Yes. But we don’t have direct control over how an individual citizen acts in any particular situation. We do have control over how the police conduct OUR business (not their business). When we don’t like how an event has unfolded, we are best served by looking at what buttons, switches, levers are at our disposal to manipulate the dynamic and change the outcome of the next similar situation.
That is why it is so frustrating watching people who are preoccupied with their support of the police try to shut down any criticism, and say the answer is on the citizen conduct side of the equation. We don’t get to simply change that. That is not a viable strategy, it is wishful thinking, ignoring reality. Police do what we tell them to do. It’s their job. Their job would be easier if we could find a way to build trust—that is hard but conceivably achievable.